Enterprise zone bill advances out of Senate committee

SPRINGFIELD -- An Illinois Senate committee approved legislation on Thursday that would extend the life of the state's enterprise zones and allow for more of them.

DAVID THOMAS

SPRINGFIELD -- An Illinois Senate committee approved legislation on Thursday that would extend the life of the state's enterprise zones and allow for more of them.

Senate Bill 3688 would allow enterprise areas, in which businesses receive tax breaks and incentives from both state and local governments, to continue for 25 more years.

“There are many things that the business community does not like about the state of Illinois that you hear about. This is one thing the state of Illinois does properly. It works; it’s proven to work,” said Mark Denzler, vice president and chief operating officer of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association.

The bill was approved unanimously by the Special Committee on Enterprise Zone Extensions unanimously.

In addition to extending their lifespan, SB3688 would add 10 more zones to the state’s existing 95 zones. Currently, in each of these zones, no more than 12 square miles in one area can be deemed an enterprise zone. SB3688 would push that size limit to 18 square miles.

The bill would also require the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to keep track of the costs of the various tax breaks and incentives businesses receive.

It is unknown how much potential revenue has been lost as a result of the program, but the legislation's sponsor, Sen. Michael Frerichs, D-Champaign, believes helping businesses move and grow in Illinois is worth the trade-off.

“If a business doesn’t move into the state or doesn’t choose to grow, then there’s no revenue coming into the state,” Frerichs said.

Last year, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill that simply extended the lifespan of the zones. However, it ran into opposition in the House, where majority leader Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, has questioned the zones’ usefulness in helping economically depressed areas.

Statewide, businesses made more than $2.4 billion in capital investments in enterprise zones during fiscal 2011. The investments created 8,980 jobs and retained another 14,119, according to a report compiled by the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

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